Germany

Neuschwanstein (German: Schloß Neuschwanstein,
"new swan rock"; IPA pronunciation: /noivantaIn/)
is a late 19th century castle in Germany, near the villages
of Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria,
not far from the Austrian border. It is said the be
the most photographed building in the world, and is
one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations.

Construction was started by King Ludwig II of Bavaria,
also known as "Mad King Ludwig." It was designed
by Christian Jank. The castle is located near Hohenschwangau,
an older castle restored by Ludwig's father, Maximilian
II of Bavaria. Due to his eccentricities and his perceived
use of Bavarian funds (a myth, as Ludwig actually used
his own money to finance the construction of the castle)
Ludwig was removed from power before the castle was
completed. Soon after Ludwig's mysterious death (1886),
the castle and its amazing interior was opened to the
public. Many tapestries and paintings depict scenes
from the operas of Richard Wagner, a reflection of Ludwig's
love for Wagner's work. However, many of the interior
rooms remain undecorated -- only 14 rooms were finished
before Ludwig's death.

The nearby Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge) provides
a beautiful side view of Neuschwanstein.

Neuschwanstein, the (relatively) modern fairy-tale
castle of Bavaria, inspired the modern fairy-tale castle
at Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty Castle. The inspiration
for the Cinderella Castles at other Disney parks is
sometimes incorrectly attributed to Neuschwanstein.
The basis for those designs is the Château d'Ussé
in France.[1][2]

Neuschwanstein appears in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang as a castle in the fictional land of Vulgaria.

We've seen the Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloß)
some years ago, on our way and back to Oberammergau.

The place looked like a castle out of a Walt Disney
movie, reminding us of looking like a Walt Disney castle.

Our thinking was erroneous to some extent, since the
Castle has been around long before 'Walt Disney was
a twinkle in his father's eye', but also right, since
the Castle did appear in Walt Disney movie/s.

There's a castle, very similar in appearance in Las Vegas and
credited to the Disney films, rather than to King Ludwig
II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Schloß.

Just shows the grip of Disney and other Hollywood
films in our everyday life.

In many cities all over the world Hui Chin and I have
visited, the main sights are the once that were
associated with some movies, or filming some
of the movies there.

Unfortunately I do not have many of my photos left
of this place, although we had four cameras between
us and we taken many, many photos wherever we went,
two of my cameras, with large, 512 MB SD Cards and many
thousands of photos on them with my valet and money,
were stolen from my bag, later into our trip, by some
'lowlife'.